Datchet's promotion hopes hampered by player availability

The availability of players, the results Datchet pick up when they’ve got their full strength side out, will define their season, captain Steve Naylor said this week.

Naylor believes 11 wins, or there or thereabouts, will be good enough for promotion to Home Counties Division 1, and, when their big hitters are available, he believes the side are a match for anyone in the league.

Datchet are currently fifth in the standings, with two wins from their five matches, and on Saturday their inability to chase down leaders Buckingham’s 181-8 led to a 40 run defeat.

“We tend to win games when we have our full strength side out,” said Naylor, who wasn’t available himself at Buckingham.

“If we can get 10/11 wins this season we’ll have a good chance of going up, but if we can’t get the guys out there it will be an average season and we’ll finish third or fourth.”

Datchet have a number of promising school players, who have to prioritise those matches at weekends, while others have work commitments they’re not able to get out of. The side are likely to have more of their better players available in the second half of the summer.

“On Saturday we had three batsmen missing from our top five which makes a big difference.”

Datchet host Chesham today (Saturday), and Naylor says their hopes of a win rest on two or three players stepping up to the plate.

“Six of the side will be away,” he said. “Again it will come down to one or two of the guys with the bat. We’ll be confident of keeping them down to a reasonable score.”

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